​I was placed in foster care at age 16. I was so lucky to have an amazing foster mom who taught me how to become a better person. She literally saved my life in so many ways and inspired me to become a foster parent myself. I struggled a bit into adulthood, but she was there for me! Once I became stable, I completed my foster parent training as a single mom with two biological children, ages 3 and 7. My first placements were two children – siblings ages 4 months old and 4 years old. After that, I fostered a boy with a brain tumor and who had seizures. He kept me on my toes with the seizures which finally stopped after medication therapy and brain surgery. His parents only spoke Spanish, and we became close through the hospital waiting rooms.

During that time, I met and married my husband and gained 4 more bonus kids! We are currently in the process of adopting our foster daughter, and have provided respite with children of various ages. While there have been major difficulties over the years, the struggle is worth it when we are able to see kids move from barely surviving to fully thriving. My best advice for people considering becoming a foster parent is that there is no "right" time. There was an ad campaign in California for foster care with billboards that said "you don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent." There are so many kids waiting for a home right now.